Hog
killing in Liptovská Teplička is an age long tradition that takes
place usually in winter before Christmas or early spring before Easter.
Most of the families in Liptovská Teplička bread at least two pigs.
This is due to the fact that until recently there were no fridges or
freezers and it was very difficult to store the meat due to the heat and
the flying insects.
Hog-killing usually takes place early Saturday morning with help of
several family members. Some members of the family are able to kill the
pig and process the meat by themselves. The ones that can’t do this call
the butcher or someone more skilful from the family.

The
whole process starts with boiling water in a cauldron. When the hot water
that is needed for the meat processing is boiling the hog killing may
proceed. After the kill that is performed by a special gun the pig is let
to bleed and the blood is captured to a bowl to be used later to make
blood sausage. After the bleeding the pig is put into a wooden manger and
boiling water is poured over it. With the help of special bells it is
shaven of its hair and washed with more boiling water several times.
Hardest part is cleaning the head and ears.

Then
it is hanged by its hind legs and the belly is cut open. The intestines
are carefully removed first so they won’t spoil the meat. The intestines
are given to the housewife who takes them to the creek to be washed.
Lungs, heart, kidneys, head and skin are put into the boiling water and
are cooked and later on are used for blood sausage and head cheese. Now is
the time to cut the pig in half on its back, that is done with axe. One
half is left hanging and the other is processed on large table. First of
all they cut of the front and hind leg. They have to be cleaned really
well. Then they cut of the thigh that can be smoked or cut up into pieces.
Now is time to slice pork chops, ribs, tenderloin etc.

There
is a lot of bacon that has some meat as well. This meat is carefully
cut out to be used in sausages as is the remaining less valuable meat.
Large pieces of bacon are smoked. Skin is removed from smaller pieces and
they are cut up into small squares and they are melted for lard and
cracklings.
During all this work beer and slivovitz is never missing. The whole
process usually takes about three hours.
At the beginning of the processing the liver was given to the housewife as
well and she cooked it with onions and lard and also prepared special
sauerkraut with potatoes. Now it’s the time to eat and everyone eats
from one pot in the middle of the table in the summer kitchen.

After
the lunch and drinking some slivovitz and beer the process continues
with grinding the meat for sausages and adding several spices to the
sausage mix such as salt, black pepper, marjoram, lots of garlic and
several other secret spices to the family taste. The mixture is let
to sit for a while. Then through a special instrument
under pressure they fill thin intestines with it and make sausages.
These are later on in the evening taken to the smoke house and are
smoked for a week.

After
the sausages is a time to make the headcheese to which they add
less valuable pieces of meat that was cooked in the cauldron. This
meat is spiced up with several spices and garlic and also it can be
placed in a stomach membrane or in plastic sacks. This mixture
is then covered with the liquid from the cauldron. When the mixture
is in the sacks or the stomach membrane, it is put back to the
cauldron to cook for about ten minutes. After the cooking it is let
off the waster and something heavy is put over it to make it solid.
Then it is taken to the smoke house as well.
Now is the time to make the blood sausages. They can be made with or
without blood. In Liptovská Teplička they make only blood
sausages. After the killing of the pig the blood is caught into a bowl
to which they add later on cooked barley, salt, garlic, black pepper
and cooked and grinded guts. This mixture can be left in a pot
and warmed up. Some people in Liptovská Teplička process this
mixture same as sausages and fill the thin intestines and they
aren’t smoked.
Some cuts of meat and bacon are
salted after processing and placed into washed and cleaned wooden
manger and are salted. They are let to tenderize for two weeks in
the attic or in a very cold room. With the help of salt the meat
lets out liquid and with this liquid it is sprinkled every other
day. After two weeks it is smoked in the smoke house for a week.
When is everything finished there is a short tasting of all products
and a toast. Every helper gets a present of products from the
housewife that’s usually includes some sausage, meat, blood
sausage and soup that was cooked by her whole day from unused pieces
of meat. This sup is made with sauerkraut and barley and it is
called GREZUPPA.

I
am glad that I was able to participate at two hog killings in Liptovská
Teplička and I would like to thank the Janík and Smolár families
that mate this possible.